Berthoud committee seeks to preserve town's historic character

Berthoud Historic Preservation Advisory Committee seeks community support for a residential historic district

By Shelley Widhalm Reporter-Herald Staff Writer

Posted:
10/06/2013 05:15:31 PM MDT

Updated:
10/06/2013 05:15:46 PM MDT

Standing in the backyard of her Berthoud home built in 1905, Heidi Short talks about the root cellar behind her, which she says is unique to homes in the area. Short is interested in the Berthoud Historic Preservation Committee's plan to establish a residential historic district in Berthoud.
(
Jenny Sparks
)

Berthoud resident Heidi Short likes the idea of her 1905 house being in the midst of a residential historic district.

But to get her wish, she and her neighbors have to demonstrate interest in restoring Old Town Berthoud's character.

"It's a good thing for the community," Short said. "I've seen how historic districts in other communities have helped the tourist industry."

For her part, Short and her husband, Bryan Short, have a to-do list of repairs that will help restore their home's historic ambience. They are in the midst of repainting the trim from green to blue and replacing the canvas awnings and have plans to fix the roof on the root cellar in back.

"It's really important for those with really old houses who want to keep them the way they're designed," Short said about the district.

The Berthoud Historic Preservation Advisory Committee is gauging community interest in a residential historic district that would complement the town's historic commercial district established last year. The commercial district, which consists of 19 contributing structures of the 31 businesses there, extends from Third Street to west of Fifth and from north of Massachusetts Avenue to south of Mountain Avenue.

A local historic district preserves and protects those buildings and properties that have been designated as historically or architecturally significant, as explained in a flyer put out by HPAC.

Advertisement

"Going through the residential area, you can see old Berthoud. It's still evident. It's still intact," said Tim Katers, principal planner for the town of Berthoud and a staff liaison to the Historic Preservation Advisory Committee.

In September 2012, committee members visited the homes in the possible residential historic district, knocking on doors and handing out the flyers. They followed up with two open houses on Saturday and Monday.

"There's a gold mine of historic homes in Berthoud," said Doug Carlander, vice-chairman of HPAC. "It's unusual for a small town to have that many in a concentrated area ... As you walk up the street, you can see the progression of time from the early 1900s up to the 1950s."

The area Carlander is referring to includes 333 homes and is bounded by Capitol Avenue south to Bimson Avenue and Ninth Street east to a mix of Third and Fourth streets, plus Welch Avenue between First and Ninth streets. The homes all are 50 years or older.

The historic district, if established, could include that entire area or individual blocks and neighborhoods, depending on the level of interest from the homeowners, as explained in the "Berthoud Residential Historic Development" slideshow presented to the town board July 23.

If it is, the advisory committee will assist the homeowners in deciding if they want to be part of the district. The homeowners would need to agree to be contributing members and to abide by the guidelines of the district.

The guidelines, which would only be for the exterior of the home, could include various standards, such as not removing original materials, making repairs to original features and preserving distinctive construction features, as defined by the Secretary of Interior. The guidelines would have to be met before a building permit is issued.

Homeowners would receive a financial incentive for participating in the district, such as low-interest loans, grants and state income tax deductions of 20 percent on any historically related renovation work they do.

"We've got to get a critical mass of interested people," Levy said. "It won't be successful unless we have homeowners who want to and are excited to establish a historic district."

New coordinator pushes Buffs to work, play at level he expectsJim Leavitt has discovered this much about his new defense at Colorado: He has some talent with which to work, but his players need to put it in another gear. Full Story

New coordinator pushes Buffs to work, play at level he expectsJim Leavitt has discovered this much about his new defense at Colorado: He has some talent with which to work, but his players need to put it in another gear. Full Story